Could be mine??!!!

[Borec]

hello, new to this forum, as I spend the whole night yesterday looking through the web to see any info on buying a 94 landie. Well I found quie a lot on this forum, pretty good. However i have coupel of querries. I went for a test drive yesterday and the stearing has quite a lot of free play (like 10 degrees) is this normal? If not what could be the problem. Another point is that the whole front seat (eletric - this is american automatic seven seat version) moves a fraction of an inch back and forth (like when you break or accelerate), would it be easy to fix?
There is also quite a lot of grease or could be oil mixed with grease, above the articulation where the front wheel joins the axel (I do not know the technical term for it, it is the ball like knee like joint). Is this normal or something to worry about.
I will be going to get the car checked with a mecanic in three hours (I do not know the mecanic, and my spanish is so and os, so I wonder how that is going to work out).
Thanks for any input
Borec

PS sorry about the english, not my mother tongue.

 

[firetruck41]

The steering should not normally be like that, it may be the tie rod ends (TRE), if it is a problem with the steering box, it is pretty expensive to replace, but I haven't heard of many steering box broblems.

The grease/oil from the articulation, would be the birfields leaking, the birfield is the Toyota version of a CV or U-joint for the front/steering wheels, if there is no clicking when moving forward with the steering wheel cranked to one side or the other, you probably just need to repack the birfields and replcae the seals. Repacking the birfield is a messy job and time consuming, but not particularly difficult. Here in the US, a ballpark figure for a dealer to do the repack would be about $1000. If you look in the 80 series faq, you should find some reference to the birfields.

 

[Borec]

Firetruck,
Thanks for those pointers I will concentrate on that adn see how the inspection will go.

Thanks again

 

[Borec]

Ok did the inspection spend several hours with it, as you said firetruck, thee tierod ends need changing, also one of the bolts (there are four under the BIRFs) is snapped and thus that could be why there is a leak. There is also some oil leak under the engine, but I cannot work it out if it from the transmission or from the valve cover. There certainly is a leak from the valve cover, and it goes all the way down, but it seems that there might be also a leak from somewhere else. I am not sure if one can differenciate between leaks from engine or trans in some way.

Regards

Borec

 

[EricG]

Ok did the inspection spend several hours with it, as you said firetruck, thee tierod ends need changing, also one of the bolts (there are four under the BIRFs) is snapped and thus that could be why there is a leak. There is also some oil leak under the engine, but I cannot work it out if it from the transmission or from the valve cover. There certainly is a leak from the valve cover, and it goes all the way down, but it seems that there might be also a leak from somewhere else. I am not sure if one can differenciate between leaks from engine or trans in some way.

Regards

Borec

Worn trunion bearings/races could be part of that extra play in the steering as well. I replaced mine while I was doing my birfs (might as well once you're in that far) and the steering feels tighter. Not that it was bad before - certainly not as bad as you describe.